At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument is needed.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

They Like Us, They Really Like Us

Well, more than they did anyway. Sorry if it pisses off the neocons, but most of the sane people in the US actually care if we’re respected and looked up to by the rest of the world.

Improved attitudes toward the United States were most marked in Western Europe, but also evident in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as some predominantly Muslim countries.

In Indonesia, where Mr. Obama spent part of his youth, no fewer than 73 percent of those polled said that his election had directly improved their opinion of the United States.

But the survey, taken among more than 26,000 people in 24 countries, plus the Palestinian territories, found that anti-American animosity remained high in places like Pakistan, Turkey and among Palestinians.

Europeans, in particular, seemed to be responding positively to Mr. Obama. The number of Britons saying that they trusted the American president to do the “right thing” in world affairs soared to 86 percent this year, under Mr. Obama, compared with just 16 percent last year, under President George W. Bush. The increase was slightly larger in both Germany and France.

The right thing numbers also jumped in all Middle Eastern countries surveyed — except Israel, which saw no statistical change.

If Obama can follow through on Iraq and solve the Afghan quagmire, he’ll be up 100% internationally. Obviously, we have a solid 15% in this country that are not happy if we are not involved in a clash of civilizations somewhere.